The Image staff muses on the culture of keeping up appearances

'Mad Men' fashion book from costume maven Janie Bryant planned

January 20, 2010 | 10:24
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Sure, it’s riveting television. But what we’re likely to remember most about the Golden Globe-winning series “Mad Men” is its slick costuming, evocative of two-martini lunches and desks with built-in ashtrays.

And now the woman behind the skin-tight pencil skirts and pocket squares, Emmy-winning costume designer Janie Bryant, is hoping to help real-world gals tap into their inner va-va-voom with a fashion-advice book -- co-written by former Los Angeles Times staff writer Monica Corcoran.

Grand Central will publish the book, which is nearing completion, this year. "I'm most excited about sharing my experiences as a costume designer,” Bryant said, “and inspiring women to define their own unique style and fall in love with themselves."

Corcoran, who first met Bryant while reporting on the show’s distinctive look, said the book would explore the fashions of “Mad Men,” "based upon Janie's experiences on the show, but "beyond that, it will also empower women to feel like leading ladies.”

Corcoran racks up the fashion fury surrounding the red-hot show to “a collective craving for aesthetics. We've come to sacrifice personal style for comfort. But if you tune in to ‘Mad Men,’ you see these American women looking so chic, and you think, ‘I need a pair of red pumps and a swing coat.’”